Today Was A Fairytale
by Prongywong
Summary: Seventh year. James & Lily. Love, laughter and the Marauders. You know you're interested.
1. Head Boy and Girl

_Today was a fairytale, I wore a dress  
You wore a dark grey t-shirt  
You told me I was pretty when I looked like a mess  
Today was a fairytale_

_But can you feel this magic in the air?  
It must have been the way you kissed me  
Fell in love when I saw you standing there  
It must have been the way, today was a fairytale  
It must have been the way, today was a fairytale  
_Today Was A Fairytale – Taylor Swift

Chapter One  
**Head Boy and Girl**

"I love your shoes, Lily!"

Lily Evans looked up in surprise at the Ravenclaw girl admiring her diamanté-encrusted Choi sandals – a 'welcome home' present from her doting parents. She smiled warmly at her in gratitude, and continued walking down the corridor of the Hogwarts Express.

Outside, the September sun was shining down onto platform nine and three-quarters. The covert platform always made Lily feel slightly uneasy. Though she'd known about and studied magic for six years, something about it felt so unreal and separate from the rest of the world.

She caught a glimpse of her parents' backs, as they reluctantly left the station. Though they were used to her being hundreds of miles away for most of the year, they made a habit of accompanying her to King's Cross Station to see her off.

The Evans' were a middle-class family – Paul and Flora Evans both worked in an office, which was enough to pay for their modest family car, suburban house and comfortable lifestyle. They weren't quite rich, but they weren't poor either. And despite coming from an average muggle family, Lily was very much accepted by the students at Hogwarts – in fact, she was incredibly popular.

Her older sister Petunia had avoided accompanying her to the station; a result of the loud and violent argument they had had earlier that morning. After several bitter comments between the girls and a well-aimed hairbrush thrown across the landing, Petunia had made her excuses and slipped out to meet her boyfriend or fiancée or whatever he was these days. It was just as well. Her presence at the station would only bring Lily's mood down, which was the last thing she needed on the first day of term.

"Oi, Evans!" a loud male voice brought her out of her reverie. She brushed her long red hair out of her eyes and turned around irritably.

"Hey Remus," she sighed in relief, and hugged the tall sandy-haired boy. He was wearing a beige cashmere sweater, despite the heat, and his quite handsome face was etched with tired lines and bags under his eyes.

"You thought I was James, didn't you?" he smirked, good-naturedly.

"I feared so, yes."

"He's looking for you, anyway." Remus shrugged, his sea-green eyes twinkling mischievously.

Lily raised an eyebrow. "Do you know something I don't?" she demanded.

"I'm saying nothing," he replied, barely concealing his grin. "Catch you later!"

She shook her head and continued walking along the platform. Catching a glimpse of her reflection in the window of a compartment, she noticed the gleaming red badge pinned to her cardigan. Suddenly remembering, she spun around to confirm her prediction about the position of Head Boy, but Remus had disappeared.

Lily sighed. She was so sure that Remus would get the role, but being the control freak she was, she wanted to make sure.

She could remember getting the extra-thick Hogwarts envelope with the shiny Head Girl badge inside and a congratulatory letter from Professor McGonagall as though it was yesterday. Though it was quite obvious Lily was going to get the position, with her excellent grades, numerous extra-curricular activities and general pleasant manner, she was still modestly surprised.

As she neared the back of the train, she spotted a familiar face through the compartment window, waving maniacally at her. Victoria Kensington, restless as usual, leapt to her feet and pulled the glass door open. They had been best friends since fifth year or so, when Lily had stopped being the somewhat creepy kid who hung around with the Slytherins, and seemed to be the kind, amiable person she was today.

The Kensingtons were an incredibly established wizarding family. Her great-great-great-grandfather or something of the sort had established the Daily Prophet in 1833, and the wizarding newspaper company had been passed down to her father. Her mother was an eccentric infamous socialite who was always hosting parties and cotillions with her many friends. Victoria was the youngest of four children, the other three of which were all boys.

"Lily, I've missed you!" she pulled Lily into the seat next to her. The whole carriage was empty, aside from the two of them.

"You made it back!" Lily smiled affectionately. Last she heard Victoria had been in France, with no apparent intentions of making it back in time for school. It was just like her to get carried away with the joys and bliss of summertime. "Your hair looks lovely," she added.

Victoria smiled and tucked her newly dyed ashy blonde hair behind her ears. She was constantly dying her hair. At the end of sixth year it had been chocolate brown, and before that, jet black. Now, when she moved her head, Lily could swear she could see faded pink highlights within the blonde.

"How was your summer? Spent it with Amos, I bet," Victoria raised her eyebrows suggestively.

Amos Diggory was her long-term boyfriend, a Ravenclaw in their year. They had been together for over six months, and everyone knew and referred to them as the 'perfect couple'. Amos played for the Ravenclaw Quidditch team, was the house prefect and had the affections of every Ravenclaw girl, and even a few Hufflepuffs. Lily had already asked – he wasn't this year's Head Boy.

Lily blushed. "Yeah, yeah." The two of them had spent most of the summer lounging around Amos' country house or having fancy dinners in expensive restaurants. It wasn't Lily's style, but it was fun.

"You're copulating like bunnies," Victoria chuckled.

Lily rolled her eyes. "Big words, Vic."

"Aren't you so proud?"

She glanced at her goblin-made bracelet watch and got to her feet. "I'd better be heading to the prefect carriage!" She couldn't conceal the excitement in her voice.

Victoria shook her head exasperatedly. "The train hasn't even left yet!"

"I'm Head Girl, Tory! Who else is going to keep the prefects in form?" she said sternly, as she left the carriage.

Victoria opened her mouth to call after her, and tell her the rumours about the new Head Boy, but she sighed and closed it again. She'd find out soon enough, anyway.

Lily strolled down the corridor, mentally listing the things she'd say to the new prefects. She turned into the luxurious prefect carriage, and as she had expected, it was empty. Away from the prying about her sex life, she settled into a seat and pulled out a DADA textbook.

Just as she turned the page of her advanced textbook, the carriage door slid open.

Lily rolled her eyes, as she saw who was standing in the doorway, grinning nervously.

"Out Potter, this is for prefects," she said uninterestedly, going back to her book.

"And the Head Boy and Girl," James cocked an eyebrow, and leant against the doorframe, clearly enjoying himself. Out of habit, he ran a hand through his ridiculously messy black hair.

James Potter, the infamous 'leader' of the Marauders, and easily the richest student in all of Hogwarts. Though he'd never admit it, his expensive designer polo shirt and jeans were ironed earlier that morning by his doting mother, who would do anything for her only son. Charlus Potter was the deputy to the Minister of Magic, and his mother Dorea worked in the auror office. They were possibly one of the most influential wizarding families in existence.

Lily didn't even look up. "Give Remus his badge back. You didn't think that would work, did you?"

An expression of hurt flickered across James' spectacled face. "You have such little faith in me, Evans!" he frowned.

She looked up, her pretty face clouded with confusion. "What exactly are you talking about, Potter?"

He smiled self-assuredly, and flashed his red and gold badge at her. In an instant, it sunk in. Lily's jaw dropped, and she stared at him, gobsmacked, as the compartment began to fill with prefects.

A pair of Hufflepuff girls squealed and nudged each other, as they noticed James leaning against the far wall, confirming that the wildly spreading rumours were true. When everybody had filed in, he cleared his throat nervously – Lily seemed somewhat incapable of speech.

"Err, I'm James and that's Lily, and we're your Head Boy & Girl for this year," he looked around at them all, grinning tensely. They gazed back up at him expectantly. He glanced at Lily, urging her to say something. She was still looking around, as though she expected it to be a joke.

"Ahem, well, we can have a prefects' meeting once a week – is Tuesday good for everyone?"

"No, I've got Quidditch practice," Amos Diggory spoke up, tossing his blonde hair self-importantly.

"We've all got to make sacrifices, Diggory." James said loudly, "Any other questions?"

A few people chuckled, as Amos narrowed his eyes angrily.

"We'll make it Wednesdays," Lily finally spoke up. "You can't use this position for your little prejudices Potter," she hissed under her breath.

James pouted indignantly, as she finished up the meeting.

"Stop sulking," she snapped, glaring at him while the prefects dispersed to patrol the train corridors.

"Look, I didn't _ask _for – " he began, but broke off, as Amos wrapped his muscular arms around Lily's waist and began kissing her. James rolled his eyes and headed for the compartment door.

* * *

_Hey guys.  
Hope you like this chapter, and this story.  
I dedicate it to Paddywhack aka Liv - my best friend, the Sirius to my James.  
Lots of love to you all.  
Review?  
Ash, x_


	2. The Marauder Compartment

Chapter Two  
**The Marauder Compartment**

Victoria slipped her Potions textbook back into her one-of-a-kind French designer bag – she had taken to carrying some sort of book with her wherever she went, in an attempt to look smart, and subsequently raise her grades. As she often told Lily, everyone has their own studying technique.

She sighed and looked out of the window. The sun was hidden behind a cloud, and the countryside looked bleak compared to the incessantly hot beaches of France. She was bored already, and they hadn't even reached Hogwarts.

Suddenly, the carriage door opened, and Lily and Amos walked in, their arms wrapped in each other. Lily barely said hello to her, before they collapsed onto the seat and began kissing.

Victoria smirked to herself and stood up. "I'll see you later, Lily," she said loudly, slinging her bag over her shoulder. She slammed the compartment door shut behind her, and the glass shook frailly.

It was only once she was out in the corridor that she realised she didn't quite know where to go. There was always Marlene, Mary and Emmeline, the other Gryffindor girls – they were fun, but a completely inseparable trio. It was awkward talking to them.

She strolled down the corridor, twirling her Elder-wood wand between her fingers, watching the colours of her neon-pink nail varnish and the cream of her wand blend together.

"Watch where you're going," a voice snapped irritably, and she looked up.

Sirius Black, best friend of James Potter and womanizer of Hogwarts was hopping on one foot and rubbing the other with a scowl on his undeniably handsome face. His dark shaggy hair fell into his grey eyes – it had gotten even longer than usual over the summer. He was somewhat short, and made up for his height in muscle and width, whereas she was tall, athletic and slender. When he straightened up, the two were almost the same height, Sirius only a few inches taller.

Victoria and James had known each other for as long as they could remember – their families were good friends, and they had spent many summers together. In fact, both she and Sirius had spent almost all of the summer before third year at the Potter manor. The following year, the three of them holidayed in a wizarding village of Cornwall during the Easter holidays. She was pretty good friends with them, at least outside of Hogwarts anyway.

"Sorry," she raised an eyebrow at him and continued walking, wondering where she was going to spend the rest of the train journey. There was always the Slytherins...

"Why aren't you with Evans?" he called after her. Victoria could hear the teasing in his voice. She stopped. "You're always with her, right?"

"_Lily_ is with her boyfriend," she said, spinning around to face him. Other than Remus, the Marauders never called Lily by her first name.

Sirius smiled knowingly and cocked his head to the side. "Come and sit with us," he said, a statement rather than a suggestion.

Victoria shrugged. "Are the rumours true?" she asked, as they walked towards the Marauders' compartment. "James is Head Boy?"

"Yep," Sirius grinned widely. "Never would have believed it myself. Dumbledore's going crazy, if you ask me. And you'd think James would be over the moon, but he's just moping and feeling sorry for himself."

"Why's that?"

"Same reason you were. Evans and Diggory,"

Victoria scoffed. "Tell him to get over it."

"Tell him yourself," Sirius slid open the door and held it open for her, as they entered the compartment. Peter Pettigrew, the fourth marauder, was sitting by the window, a muggle comic book lying on his lap. He was reading it intently, stopping only to show it to Remus who was sitting beside him and reaching into his bag for a large bar of Honeydukes' chocolate. He smiled up at her as she walked in.

"Kensington," James said dully, barely looking up at her from his seat on the floor of the train. His jet black hair was messier than usual – it looked as though he'd just woken up.

"Must you call me by my last name? I'm not Lily," she sighed in exasperation, sitting down opposite Remus. Sirius lay across the seat, his head resting against Remus' shoulder.

"Unfortunately," James said simply, and she thumped his shoulder lightly.

"He just wants to refer to Lily with every sentence," Remus chuckled, unwrapping the chocolate. He had already changed into his Hogwarts uniform, though he wasn't wearing his robes. Carelessly, he pushed up the sleeves of his grey school jumper.

Victoria gasped, before she could stop herself. Up and down both his arms were deep red scars that couldn't have been more than a few days old. Four pair of eyes flickered to her in shock, and Remus pulled his sleeves down sharply.

"Broomstick accident. He crashed," Sirius explained, patting Remus on the back. He winced slightly in pain, under Sirius' heavy thud. "So, looking forward to going back to school guys?" he said awkwardly, as Remus scrutinised Victoria's facial expression, wondering if she had noticed anything wrong.

"Hey Vic, you know why Sirius is so excited to get back to school, right?" James said, grinning suddenly. Sirius turned a deep shade of red. Sirius Black – _blushing?_

"Professor Asher, the only reason we all took Astronomy," James laughed, not even able to keep a straight face. Professor Carla Asher was the youngest and most lusted after member of staff at Hogwarts – her class was always over-crowded with applicants; 99% boys.

"It's a miracle you lot even made it into the NEWT class," Victoria chuckled. "Ridiculous schoolboy crushes."

"It's not a 'schoolboy crush'!" Sirius yelled, his attractive face pouting, "We have a relationship. Or at least, we will soon. You mark my words."

Remus scoffed, snapping his chocolate into pieces. He threw a large chunk across to Victoria, who caught it delicately. Her eyes focused on him, as he read opened up a thick book and began reading it avidly. His fair hair caught the sunlight streaming through the window, and the long summer had given him cute brown freckles and honey coloured highlights.

He glanced up, noticing her staring at him, and she averted her gaze embarrassedly.

* * *

_Chapter Two, hope you enjoyed.  
Thank you to Paddywhack, Lily Orange, LOLhaily, Jene, and live4dance who so kindly reviewed.  
My readers and reviewers mean the world.  
Love you lots.  
Ash, x_


	3. Welcome Back

Chapter Three  
**Welcome Back**

The Great Hall of Hogwarts Castle was glistening with the light of thousands of candles and the bright stars of the enchanted ceiling above. The ceiling was bewitched to look like the sky outside, and it was an exceptionally beautiful night that night. The hundreds of Hogwarts students sat at the four house tables; Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, each ornately decorated in their respective colours and emblazoned with their animal.

Professor Dumbledore was in the course of giving his 'Welcome Back' speech, which was almost exactly the same each year, except with a few more rules each time from the caretaker, Argus Filch.

The golden lion roared silently on the banner directly above Sirius' head, and he chuckled juvenilely. As he laughed, he caught the eye of his younger brother, Regulus from across the hall. Regulus was practically a miniature, slighter version of Sirius, with similar good looks and dark eyes, though unlike Sirius, he wore a green and silver tie and sat at the Slytherin table.

Regulus looked away before the grin had even left Sirius' face.

He sighed and glanced opposite him at James, who was toying with the apple pie on his plate. He wasn't one for neglecting his food – Sirius knew something was wrong, and he could guess what. Somewhere to his left, Lily Evans was smiling across the hall towards the Ravenclaw table, where her pompous boyfriend was sitting and James was deliberately looking in the opposite direction.

James was barely listening to Dumbledore's speech, though seeing as he was Head Boy now maybe he ought to try and be a little more responsible. He arranged the remains of his apple pie in patterns across his plate.

Suddenly, to his right, he felt a sharp nudge from Remus. He looked up, and everybody around was looking at him blankly. "Get up," Remus hissed, practically shoving him to his feet. He turned around to see Lily standing too, and smiling at the students.

"Your new Head Boy & Girl for this year," Professor Dumbledore concluded, raising a white eyebrow at James, in a friendly way. The students broke into applause and several Hufflepuff girls wolf-whistled.

James smiled embarrassedly. He usually loved the attention, but it felt incredibly arrogant to be applauded for being Head Boy, especially seeing as he hadn't even been a prefect, and there were those who deserved it much more.

Such as Amos Diggory perhaps, who was bitterly clapping along with the rest of his house, his eyes narrowed.

"Prefects, please show the first-years to their dormitories," Professor Dumbledore concluded his speech loudly, and there was a murmuring and scraping, as the students got to their feet and began making their way to their house towers.

"What's up with you?" Remus nudged James, as they caught up with him on the magical enchanted staircase, leading to Gryffindor Tower.

"Nothing," James shrugged, "Just feels weird to be back at school, and Head Boy and stuff."

"Yeah James, you'd better start taking your responsibilities more seriously," Peter warned. Sirius glared at him and threw an arm around his best friend. Since the first day of their first year, James and Sirius had been the closest of friends, and nothing could possibly bring them apart.

"Cheer up James, nothing's different. Except maybe Evans hates you even more now," he joked lightly.

"Oh yeah, really cheering me up, Sirius," James shoved him, unable to suppress a laugh.

"Yeah, don't worry about Lily," Remus mused thoughtfully, smiling as though he knew something the others didn't.

"Butterbeer Float," Sirius said cheerfully to the portrait of the Fat Lady, which guarded the entrance to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Good evening Mr Black," she giggled, her cheeks reddening, as the portrait swung open, "How was your summer?"

"It was great thanks," Sirius replied politely. "Finally moved out of James' place. Your mum was going mad with me around all the time, James!" In the summer before sixth year, Sirius had ran away from his arrogant, Dark Arts supporting home, and moved into the Potter Manor, where he was considered part of the family.

"Don't be an idiot, she misses you." James rolled his eyes, as they made their way up the Boys' Dormitory Staircase. "There's, err – there's still a room available – you know, if you want it."

"Cheers," Sirius cleared his through and grinned his perfectly crooked smile. "Hey you know what? It feels like we haven't had a party in so long! Let's throw a party, yeah?"

The others slowly smiled, anticipating the type of party Sirius liked to throw.

* * *

_I apologise for the shortness and ridiculousness of this chapter.  
Again, thank you so much to everyone who reviewed.  
I appreciate reviews .  
I love this story so much, I was up 'til ten to five last night writing. It's difficult to stop!  
Lots of love.  
Ash, x_


	4. Idiocy and Irresponsibility

Chapter Four  
**Idiocy and Irresponsibility**

James twiddled his thumbs idly, drooping down even further in his seat. History of Magic was easily the most boring lesson in their whole timetable, and the seventh-years had it first on Monday morning. The most annoying thing was it wasn't even an effortless subject. It was so easy to daydream and zone out, but when it came to exam time, it was also very easy to fail.

All of a sudden, a sharp nudge in his left arm caused James to jump up in his seat. A small scrunched up sheet of parchment had formed itself into the shape of a dart, and was poking him repeatedly in the arm. He grabbed the note and looked around for the culprit, only to see Sirius grinning from across the room, waving his wand skilfully. James rolled his eyes, opening the parchment to see Sirius' thick black cursive.

_Hey Prongs, let's skip this snooze-fest and go hang out with the Hufflepuffs_.

James chuckled to himself and scrunched up the note. He considered the idea for a moment. It was common knowledge that all the Hufflepuff girls were sluts. But as he shifted in his seat, the afternoon sun shone on him, and reflected from his shiny red Head Boy badge.

He sighed. The Head Boy couldn't be seen skipping lessons and flirting with a bunch of random girls. He pulled a face at Sirius, ripped out a sheet of parchment and scribbled back a reply.

_Free period after this. We'll go hang out by the lake. Tell Remus. _

When he was sure Professor Binns wasn't looking, he sent the note flying towards Sirius' desk, and watched his smile fade to a scowl as he read it. Sirius rolled his eyes and gestured to James with his middle finger, before sending the note two rows ahead, to where Remus was sitting.

James laughed to himself again, somewhat disheartened, and grabbed a spare sheet of parchment, on which he was supposed to be writing notes about the Goblin Wars of 1886. Absent-mindedly, he began doodling on the parchment, barely paying attention.

After what seemed like forever, the bell rang sharply, and within a second, Sirius was standing beside his desk. "What's that?" he whined, nodding towards the doodled over parchment and shoving James' quills in his bag for him, eager to get outside.

"Nothing," James screwed up the parchment, decorated with a pair of initials over and over again, and casually set fire to it with his wand.

"Let's go!" Sirius grabbed James' sleeve and motioned for Remus to join them too. He dragged them along the corridor, and down three flights of stairs. Even Remus seemed quite excited at the prospect of hanging out by the lake, for the first time since July.

"The sun will be gone soon!" he sighed, as they all but ran across the vast Hogwarts Grounds, and approached their usual spot – a collection of misshaped rocks of different sizes, by the edge of the lake.

James sat on the biggest rock and buried his face in his hands.

"What's up, James?" Remus pressed, sitting at his feet and looking around before pushing the sleeves of his jumper up comfortably.

"M'stressed," James replied, his voice muffled in his hands. He took a deep breath and sat up, rubbing his tired eyes.

"What's there to be stressed about, the term's barely started!" Sirius scoffed distractedly, eyeing a pair of girls sunbathing on the grass nearby.

"Head Boy hassle, I'm sure," Remus sympathized, patting James' knee awkwardly. "It'll be easier when you get used to it, James,"

"And cheer up! It's the full moon in, what? A week?!" Sirius snapped to attention excitedly. The full moon, of course, meant sneaking out past all hours, transfiguring into their animagus forms and keeping Remus, the secret werewolf under control. As well as having a little fun of their own.

Remus groaned, as he reached into his bag and took out his Charms textbook. "The full moon is not something to look forward to."

"Are you sure you can control yourself, Sirius? You're not going to try and kill Snape again?" James chuckled. Six months ago, after Sirius had tricked Severus Snape into going into the Shrieking Shack while Remus was a werewolf, James had been livid. He hadn't spoken to Sirius in weeks – longer than it took Remus to forgive him. Sirius had eventually shown how sorry he was, and the two of them couldn't go too long without being best friends.

Now, James could joke about it, without being angry, but the subject was still tense.

"Ha, funny," Sirius shoved him lightly, and James toppled off the rock.

He spluttered indignantly from the ground, swearing under his breath. "Oh Black, you did not just do that," he picked himself up and brushed the grass off his robes. Sirius sat on top of James' rock and crossed his legs pompously.

"Yes I did," he said simply, his arms crossed.

James stared at him. "Sirius, you look like a gnome," he raised an eyebrow threateningly.

"Oh do I?" Sirius stood up and held his fists in front of him, pressing his lips together, trying not to laugh.

"Yeah you do," James managed to get out, before Sirius leapt on top of him, and they rolled on the ground, attempting to get a punch in.

"Calm down," Remus laughed, trying to separate them. "You're behaving like children!"

"Yeah, they are," a disgusted voice from behind Remus caused James and Sirius to freeze on the ground. Two new figures had arrived, casting shadows on the ground.

"Move Evans, you're blocking the sun," Sirius rolled over, propped himself up on his elbows and waved his hand impatiently at Lily and Victoria standing above him. "I don't suppose you're here to ask James back to your dormitory, are you?" he winked, nudging James, who blushed slightly and bit his lip to stop from laughing.

Lily ignored Sirius. "Perhaps the new Head Boy should be acting a little more responsible," she said shortly, glaring at James, before walking past them to their Herbology lesson.

James ruffled his hair exasperatedly, gesturing violently at Lily's back.

"You won't get her to go out with you by doing that," Remus said complacently, without looking up from his Charms textbook.

"Shut up," James groaned. "I'm not doing what _Evans_ tells me. Even if I do wanna marry her."

"Marry," Sirius scoffed. "You mean you want to _shag _her."

"I take that to mean you're_ not _going to act at all responsible?" Remus sighed exasperatedly.

James cocked his head to the side. "Sirius, you mentioned throwing a party?"

* * *

_I don't like this chapter.  
But I hope you lot do.  
Love to every amazing reviewer.  
I'm going to the dentist today. Review if you wish me luck!  
Lots of love.  
Ash, x_


	5. Out of Bounds

Chapter Five  
**Out of Bounds**

"I really should not be here," Lily informed Victoria for the twelfth time that night. They made their way across the floor, towards the makeshift bar, where a couple of fourth-year boys had been bribed into serving drinks in exchange for being allowed to attend the party. As Head Girl, she was officially supposed to shut down all unauthorized parties – especially those that included excessive alcohol, deafening music and trespassing in abandoned towers – but there was an unwritten rule at Hogwarts that the Prefects and Head Boy & Girl were to let people have their occasional shindig, or else face complete exclusion from the rest of the students.

"Merlin, Lily! Let your hair down!" Victoria rolled her eyes and tugged at the messy bun on top of Lily's head. Her dark red curls cascaded down her shoulders as her hair-band came loose. "That's better," she grinned, pulling Lily to the front of the bar. "Two Gillyrum and Cranberries, please,"

"Err, just the Cranberry juice for me," Lily corrected, averse to the idea of the wizarding equivalent of tequila or vodka. She had always been quite a lightweight. "I'm only here to shut this party down."

"Why, exactly?" Victoria arched her perfectly shaped eyebrows sceptically and adjusted her burgundy satin halter-neck top. "Just because James and Sirius threw it?"

"He's the Head Boy!" Lily practically yelled, balling her hands into fists. "He should not be throwing wild, out of control parties in the Astronomy tower!"

"What's that, Evans?" James Potter seemed to appear out of nowhere, a Firewhiskey in his hand. His top three buttons were undone, and it looked like he had faint pink smudges on his neck.

"I was looking for you, Potter," Lily rounded on him, her short figure almost comical compared to his 6 feet. "This is breaking like, 30 school rules, you know! Professor Dumbledore ought to denote you. This is _not_ appropriate Head Boy behaviour."

James just grinned annoyingly. "Live a little, Evans," he chuckled, as a drunken Sirius appeared beside him and dragged him away by the arm.

"Maybe you'll find Amos here?" Victoria suggested, eyeing Remus Lupin standing by the large arched window. "I'll catch up with you guys later," she said distractedly, ignoring Lily's protests that Amos would never be caught dead breaking so many rules. She crossed the room to where Remus was leaning over the edge of the windowsill, sipping at a Butterbeer.

"What are you doing over here?" she asked. He jumped in shock, dropping his butterbeer into the grass, hundreds of feet below. "Oh shit, sorry," she gasped.

"Don't worry," Remus chuckled, "I was pretty much done."

Victoria smiled and leaned out of the window, beside him. "Full moon tonight," she gestured towards the bright glowing orb in the sky.

"It's not a full moon yet," Remus replied dully, fiddling with the cuff of his shirt. "Trust me."

She shrugged. "I'm guessing you weren't in charge of planning this party?" she smirked, watching a tall Slytherin seventh-year full on making out with a Hufflepuff girl who couldn't have been older than fourteen.

"That would be James and Sirius," laughed Remus. "Don't get me wrong, I think they're usually pretty fun, I'm just a little tired right now. I swear, they do these at the least appropriate times." He seemed to be talking more to himself than to her.

Victoria cocked her head to the side. "I see," she said, though she clearly didn't.

Remus looked at her. "Am I boring you with my whinging?" he joked.

She laughed. "This whole party's a bit of a buzzkill, actually. Let's get out of here?" Her blue eyes flashed excitedly.

Remus raised an eyebrow amusedly. "What do you mean by that?

"Oh not like that, I mean let's go outside or something. It's still warm now right?" she grabbed his wrist. Once she got an idea in her head, it was pretty hard to get it out.

He rolled his eyes, smiling. "We're not actually going _outside_ are we?" he asked sceptically, following her as they ran down the corridor. "Do you even know any of the secret passageways?"

She looked at him indignantly, tossing her blonde hair. "I've got three brothers Remus, I know a few tricks. And besides, just because Lily doesn't let me break the rules, doesn't mean I don't know how to!"

She tapped the large front door with her wand three times, and muttered something under her breath. Remus rolled his eyes doubtfully.

All of a sudden, the massive oak door began to slowly open outwards, revealing the warm night outside. Victoria glanced at Remus, who was shaking his head incredulously.

"That is ridiculous," he muttered, "Wait 'til I tell the others about this..."

She laughed and pulled him outside, closing the doors behind her. They flopped down on the grass, sharing what was left of Victoria's drink. Remus glanced upwards towards the Astronomy Tower. They could hear the music very faintly, even from all the way outside, and it was clear by the lights that there was a party going on. Remus often theorised that the teachers knew about the crazy, ridiculous parties that Sirius and James were always throwing, but preferred to avoid the hassle of sorting it out.

"Are you sure it's not a full moon?" Victoria wondered aloud, staring upwards at the sky.

"Pretty sure," Remus grimaced at the irony, glancing towards Victoria beside him. She was looking at the stars with a somewhat curious look on her face, as though she was trying to study them intently.

He had always considered her to be quite a strange person – not in the random James & Sirius way, but more in an eccentric way. Back in third year, he'd developed a slight crush on her, as a hormonal teenager, but he'd regarded her as way out of his league.

"Sickle for your thoughts?" Victoria broke the silence lightly, nudging Remus.

He chuckled, and opened his mouth to answer, but before he could say a word, her lips were on his, kissing him quickly but softly. She pulled away almost immediately, an impish look in her wide eyes.

Remus laughed, still in shock. "I guess we should, ahem, go back upstairs?" he suggested, after a moment's silence. He stood up and took her hand, like a perfect gentleman, and they began walking back into the castle.

* * *

_Yo, this makes me cringe.  
But they are quite cute, I guess.  
I shall update after I reach 30 reviews, kay?  
Love to all those who rev'd.  
I'm being harrassed by the chav who is my best friend to update. God help me.  
Lots of love.  
Ash, x_


	6. Tryouts and Patrols

Chapter Six  
**Tryouts and Patrols**

James flopped down on the grass and wiped the sweat off his forehead. His Gryffindor Quidditch Team sweatshirt was sticking to him – he had been running in the grassy field he used to train the Quidditch team in, to cure his ridiculous hangover. It was the first Saturday of term, the end of an unnecessarily stressful week.

He had to organise Quidditch trials yet again, which he had done on the first Saturday of the year, every year he had been Captain, and to top it off, it was his first evening patrolling the corridors as Head Boy.

He grinned, despite himself. Remus, being the good old wingman he was, had suggested at the Prefects' meeting on Wednesday that Lily do the patrols with him, as he was new to it. They had to spend the whole evening together, to her disgust. Sirius had joked that it was the closest he would ever get to a date with her. He was probably right, James thought miserably.

Sirius, Remus and Peter were probably making their way to breakfast, miles away in the castle. The sun was barely up, and it was still dark when he'd started his run. He had always envied the fact that the others never felt the need to work out as much as he did.

James slowly picked himself up from the ground, and jogged back towards the castle, hoping to meet them for breakfast.

When he finally arrived in the Great Hall, fifteen minutes later, he spotted his friends at the Gryffindor table, looking hideously hungover. He grabbed three slices of toast and sat down opposite Sirius, spreading them lavishly with jam and butter.

"Where were you?" Remus asked, trying to push Sirius' head off his plate.

"Nowhere in particular, just running," James shrugged. "I hardly saw you at all last night?"

"That's 'cause you were behaving inappropriately with Jessica Walker," Remus scoffed, taking a bite of his sausage to conceal the self-assured grin that crept onto his face.

"That's true," James mused. "Sirius, are you going to be able to fly a broom today? I can't let you back on the team if you don't try out."

Sirius groaned, his face squashed against the table. "I don't want to," he grumbled incoherently.

"Well that's fine, I'll get one of the new first-years to play beater then," James said simply, and Sirius' head shot up immediately.

"I hate first years. And there's no way something that tiny can last on a broom for a whole match, let alone hold up a bat."

Remus laughed, shaking his head.

"You'll try out, then?" James stood up and swallowed the last bite of his toast.

Sirius rubbed his pounding head and winced. "You'd better put me on the team."

--

Half an hour later, James was tapping his foot impatiently and waving the incompetent third-years away. If they've never flown before in their lives, what makes them think they can try out for a Quidditch team, he thought to himself in exasperation.

"Kensington, Evans, you wanna try out?" Sirius called out from beside him, and James turned around to see Sirius calling out to Rachel, who was sitting in the stands with a bored looking Lily.

"In your dreams, Black," Victoria rolled her eyes good-naturedly and glanced over at Remus, who was leaning against the commentators box, trying to read and pay attention to the tryouts at the same time. Peter was sitting beside him, catching up on his Herbology homework.

"Alright, I think I've got everyone," James called, as he gathered the team together. He grabbed a cardboard box filled with sweatshirts identical to the one he was wearing – bright red, with a golden lion emblazoned on the front. With a quick wave of his wand, each sweatshirt had the players' names printed on the back, as well as their position. "Shrink or enlarge them as you wish," he said, throwing them to out to the team. "You'll get your robes next week. Practice is on Thursdays – miss one, you get a warning. Miss two, you're off the team. Unless you have a legit reason, that is."

"And sitting in your dorm with PlayWitch magazine is _not_ a legit reason," Sirius added unhelpfully, and they all groaned in disgust.

"See you Friday," James said sternly, before collapsing on the ground tiredly. He lay on his back, his hands over his face.

"Err James?" Sirius said worriedly, his handsome face showing genuine concern. "REMUS!" he yelled at the top of his voice. "REMUS, THERE'S SOMETHING WRONG WITH JAMES!"

Remus shut his book reluctantly and strolled over, Peter following suit amusedly. "You're such an attention seeker," he dismissed airily.

James stood up indignantly. "I am not!" he said loudly. "I'm an attention chaser." He burst into laughter, clutching his sides. After a moment, Sirius chuckled and high fived him in appreciation, as Remus simply rolled his eyes. James glanced over to the stands, where Lily and Victoria had been sitting moments before. Like most of the girls, they had dispersed by now.

"Looking for Lily?" Sirius asked knowingly, an eyebrow raised.

"You've got all night with her later," Remus grinned, and James could resist laughing, though an unusual feeling of dread was mixed in with the excitement – a similar feeling to one he got the night before a Quidditch match.

--

"It won't be eight o'clock any sooner, just because you keep checking your watch every minute," Remus said, as James glanced at his wristwatch for the seventh time in the last fifteen minutes. They were sitting by the fire in the common room, waiting for the clock to strike eight so James could leave for what they referred to as 'The Hot Date'.

"Why must you go, James?" Sirius whined childishly. "It's a Saturday night, for Merlin's sake."

"Now Sirius, you know the rules of brohood. Hot Dates such as this one overrule boring Saturday nights with the bros." Remus recited, trying to keep a straight face.

"Very funny," James said shortly. "It's not a Hot Date, will you please stop calling it that?"

"Guys, I think Prongs is nervous about his Hot Date," Peter said, and Sirius and Remus burst into snickers.

"Ahem, sorry mate," Sirius cleared his throat, smirking slightly. "I'm sure the Hot Date will go great, you'll have her in your bed in no time," he could barely finish, they were all laughing so much.

"I'm glad you find it so funny!" James cried unhappily. "Evans is more pissed with me than ever these days, she's going to rip my balls off if I even talk to her."

"Yowch." Remus winced at the thought.

"You drama queen," Sirius rolled his eyes.

"Coming from the guy who cried for two days because he thought he had a grey hair."

"Hey!" Sirius narrowed his eyes. "That's still painful to talk about," he said, his voice cracking.

"James," Remus smiled, tapping his watch. "It's five to,"

"Shit," James cursed, shaking his head. "See you guys,"

He stood up reluctantly and made his way across the common room, dragging his feet. He jogged up a staircase with his hands in his pockets, up to the corridor where he was supposed to meet Lily. She wasn't there yet.

He ruffled his hair and leant against the wall, trying to look cool.

After a moment or so of waiting, he heard a pair of voices, and two pairs of footsteps getting louder and louder. Lily and Amos rounded the corner, their arms wrapped around each other.

"See you later darling," Amos said, kissing her flagrantly.

James averted his eyes, tapping his feet. He was sure they were doing it to annoy him.

As Amos eventually left, glaring at James as he walked away, Lily began walking in the opposite direction purposefully.

"Woah, where are you going?" James called, running to keep up with her. "Shit, you walk fast."

"I'm patrolling the corridors," she said shortly. "That's what we're supposed to be doing."

"What, do we just walk around and tell people off?" he pulled a face.

"You've never been stopped by a prefect before?" she asked dully.

James grinned. "I have my methods of staying hidden."

She rolled her eyes and ignored him.

"You're not even a little curious?" he asked, pouting. "And could you please slow down, I'm having a heart attack."

"Quidditch Captain can't keep up?" she scoffed.

"I haven't stretched."

"You'd better sit down, you'll pull a muscle."

James failed to see the sarcasm, and sat cross-legged on the floor, in the middle of the corridor. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick sheet of folded parchment.

"Potter, for Merlin's – "

"Hold on," he shushed her impatiently, as he examined the parchment intently, his eyes scanning it.

"Third-years out of bed on the second floor," he said finally, standing up.

Lily cocked her head to the side. She decided to ignore how random it was that he'd just sat down on the floor for thirty seconds, or the random piece of parchment he'd just studied. "How could you possibly know that?"

"Do you want to waste time asking questions, or do you want to give some Slytherins some detentions?" he asked simply, glad that she was paying attention to him for once.

She ground her teeth in frustration, but turned around and headed for the staircase. James hurried after her, checking her out from behind. She was simply wearing jeans and an old t-shirt, and her long red hair was swept up into a ponytail, as it often was.

He sighed lustfully, jogging to keep up with her as she caught sight of the misbehaving third-years. "Ten points from Slytherin, each," she said sternly, "and back to bed, or I'll give you a week's detentions."

"You're pretty mean," James commented, and she glared at him.

"It's called doing my job, Potter." she snapped. "And how on _earth_ did you know they'd be here?"

James hesitated. "Okay, I'll show you" he took the parchment out of his pocket, and tapped it with his wand. "I solemnly swear that I'm up to no good."

"What in Merlin's name – are those people's names?!" she exclaimed. "Is that _my_ name?!" She looked around them to confirm her suspicions. "This is a map."

"Yep," he grinned. "The Marauders' Map, to be precise,"

"Merlin," she shook her head. "You're absolutely nuts."

"Is that a good thing?" he asked hopefully.

She ignored him, still in shock. "Wait 'til I tell Amos about this, he's gonna – "

"No!" he yelped. "You can't tell people about this! We don't want people knowing our tricks of the trade. Promise me you won't, Evans."

She didn't appreciate his threatening tone. She opened her mouth to argue, but his serious, somewhat angry expression made her think twice. "Fine," she sulked.

* * *

_"Guys, I think Prongs is nervous about his Hot Date," - I love Peter. Isn't Peter really awesome? No? Ok.  
And also, I was just reading Snape's Worst Memory.  
Yeah, James is awesome. And so is Remus. And of course Sirius.  
Thanks everyone who reviewed.  
40 Reviews?  
Lots of love.  
Ash, x_


	7. Potions Partners

Chapter Seven  
**Potions Partners**

"_You showed her the map?!"_

Sirius' incredulous expression was mirrored on the faces of Remus and Peter, who were just as shocked as he was that James would give up such a secret.

"She's Head Girl!" Peter yelped. "She's going to tell somebody, or – or confiscate it!"

James shook his head helplessly. "She said she wouldn't."

Remus sighed, somewhat bemused. "What made you feel the need to show it to her in the first place?"

"She charmed me with her sorceress ways."

Sirius laughed. "In your dreams."

"Sadly, yes."

Remus chuckled and opened the door to the Potions dungeons, for the first Potions lesson of the year.

"Sorry Professor," Sirius grinned charmingly, checking his watch to realise they were eighteen minutes late. "We overslept."

Slughorn frowned. He clearly hadn't noticed their absence. "Well, sit down anyway boys. And err, don't be late again." He addressed the class again. "Now, as I was saying, we need to choose our Potions partners for the year. I'll let you choose your partners – " there was a resounding '_yes!'_ from the students – "but I must insist that you don't work with the same person you chose last year. Let's mix it up a little, for heaven's sake!"

Peter grabbed Sirius' arm excitedly, who shrugged, going along with it. James turned to Remus, but his attention was elsewhere – Victoria had turned around in her seat and was looking at Remus. "Be my partner?" she asked simply, as though she was expecting a yes.

Remus glanced at James, a smile playing on his lips. James shook his head fervently, but his friend had already turned back to Victoria. "Sure thing."

James sighed and put his head in his hands. "Some friend, Remus!"

"It's the code, Prongs. If there's a chance of one getting laid – "

"What?! There's no chance of you getting laid!"

" – then it is acceptable for one to ditch one's friend." Remus looked smug. "And besides, I'm doing you a favour." He motioned to the seat in front of James, and James' face lit up like a child's on Christmas morning.

"Nice one, Moony!" he said happily.

"Well hang on, maybe you shouldn't take this as an excuse to – " but James was no longer listening.

"Evans. Evans! Hey _Lily_," he leaned forward and prodded her in the back.

She turned around, a vicious look on her face. "What do you want?"

"You wanna be my partner, right?" he asked with the air of arrogance. "There's nobody else."

"That's not true," she protested, but she had to admit he was right. Emmeline and Marlene were partnered together, and Mary wasn't in Potions. All of her friends were either paired off already, or didn't take the class. Even Amos only got an A in his OWL, and didn't make it into the class – a fact that James loved to mention every now and then.

He grinned at her maddeningly. "Fine," she groaned, standing to swap places with Remus.

"You realise you'll be doing all the work?" he said, raising an eyebrow and looking at James who was twiddling his thumbs mindlessly.

She sighed. "I know."

-*-

It had taken exactly three minutes and twelve seconds for Lily to lose her temper with James, which was a hell of a lot longer than anybody had predicted.

"Why did you add the lacewing flies into this?!" she shrieked, peering into the cauldron, in which the potion had turned from the perfect shade of lilac to a shocking blue. "What the – what is _wrong_ with you, are you _trying_ to lower my marks?!"

James shrugged helplessly and looked to Sirius for help.

"Jeez, calm down Lily," he said breezily, but she was already trying to rectify James' mistakes. Muttering to herself like an Azkaban escapee, she experimentally threw ingredients into the cauldron until she seemed to be happy with the result. She settled back in her seat for a moment.

James reached forward to stir it for her, but she was too quick. "Ouch!" he yelped, as his fingers burned the moment he touched the ladle. "You're vicious."

"You're insolent."

"You're conceited."

"You suck Sirius' hairy – "

"Lily!" he sat up in shock. "There's no need for that language."

"And why do people always think we do that?" Sirius sighed.

"Because I'm so beautiful, why wouldn't you want to suck my balls?"

"If you remembered correctly, it was _my_ beautiful balls that _you_ were sucking."

"Only because you seduced me into it, because you were so attracted to me."

"You were easily seduced, by my dashing good looks."

Lily rolled her eyes, in disgust and amusement. "One of these days, you two are going to forget yourselves and let slip that you're secretly sleeping with each other."

"Holy shrivelfig, can you imagine?" Sirius shook his head, as James laughed.

* * *

_Omg, somebody reviewed the last chapter going 'ohh James is dead', which made me laugh harder than Shane Dawson on crack.  
Thanks for the chuckles chadders :)  
And a question for you all: Has anybody seen the Hangover? Amazing movie, right! Does anyone agree that they are _so_ much like the marauders? Like, Doug is James, Stu is Remus, Phil is Sirius, and of course Alan is Peter. Me and my super-mega-foxy-awesome-hawt buddy Liv slash Paddywhack think so, haha. She's epically shrivs-like, check her profile out. __  
Anyway, I shall update after 60 Reviews?  
Lots of love.  
Ash, x_


	8. An Interesting List

Chapter Eight  
**An Interesting List**

"In the toilets,"

"Check. In a classroom,"

"Done it. In the Ministry of Magic,"

"Ah, good one! Peter, write that down." James instructed.

"You two are disgusting," he shuddered in revulsion, but scribbled it down anyway.

Sirius looked offended. "It's not disgusting, it's ambitious!"

"On a broomstick!" James said excitedly.

"Painful, but ok. On the Knight Bus," Sirius suggested.

"On the Hogwarts Express,"

"At St. Mungo's,"

"On someone else's bed?"

Sirius scoffed. "Done that one," he winked at Peter, who looked like he wanted to be sick.

James opened his mouth to suggest 'In a church', but he was interrupted as Remus strolled across the common room and threw his school bag on the floor beside them.

"What are you doing?" he asked suspiciously, looking from the parchment in Peter's hands to the thoughtful expressions on James and Sirius' faces.

"Making a list of places to have sex," Sirius said simply.

Remus burst into laughter. "You're the most disgusting pair of sex pests I've ever met."

They both looked pleased with themselves.

"On a Quidditch pitch,"

"In a restaurant,"

"In Gringotts,"

"In a library," Remus added, looking shocked with himself the moment the words left his mouth.

They stared at him. "Remus, who would have guessed?!" James gasped.

"I always knew there was a horny monster in there somewhere," Sirius said smugly, and Remus threw his quill at him.

"Shut up."

"Hey Remus!" a voice from across the common room yelled, and Remus glanced around quickly to see Victoria calling his name. "What are the properties of a gurdyroot?"

Remus yelled the answer back, not needing to refer to a textbook.

"Thanks honey, you're a lifesaver."

Sirius and James exchanged an amused look.

"Funny, isn't it," Sirius said slowly, "that she bothered to yell over to you, when Lily-I-know-every-bloody-thing-about-Potions-Evans is sitting right beside her?"

"Even funnier, I might add," James grinned, "that she called you honey, when in all the years I've known her, she's never called me anything kinder than 'mate'. And several things much less kind."

Remus raised his eyebrows. "Sometimes, I'd like nothing better than for some Death Eaters to hunt the two of you down and torture you for a while."

"Not long enough that you'd suffer any long term damage," Peter put in. "Just enough to shock you a little."

"We're simply stating some facts, Moony," James smirked. "Somebody's got the hots for you."

"It would only be chivalrous to act upon it," Sirius encouraged, in a daunting tone.

"Yeah Remus, you wouldn't want to be considered ill-mannered." Peter warned. "Like Sirius."

"Hey!"

Remus rolled his eyes. "I don't know what you're implying."

"I think he was implying that Sirius plays women around, and doesn't treat them very – "

"Shut up James, I meant about Victoria."

"Oh I see."

"We were just saying that it's the right thing to do to ask the chick out." Sirius chuckled. "Take her to Hogsmeade! Kick up your heels! Paint the town red!"

Remus looked as though he was torn between amusement and exasperation. "She's not going to want to go out with me,"

James and Sirius' expressions were immediately those of indignation.

"Don't be silly, why wouldn't she?" James said in an unusually kind voice.

Remus shrugged, quite embarrassed at their sudden concern. "Surely I'm not her type."

"Well if you ask me, the only way to get a girl is to repeatedly ask her out until she hates you so much that she's forced to go out with you, simply to shut you up." James said matter-of-factly.

Sirius scoffed. "Don't take love advice from _him_, he doesn't know what he's saying!"

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

"You're hardly a success story, are you?" Sirius was smirking.

"Alright, alright," Remus rolled his eyes before James could retort.

"You'll do it?!" they asked simultaneously.

"I'll do it," he stood up bravely, before sitting down again, and folding his arms. "Change of plan. In case you've forgotten, like I momentarily did, I'm a werewolf."

"She won't care, Remus!" Peter reassured him.

"And besides," Sirius said with a grin, "why does she have to know?"

"You can't _lie_ to her, that's no way to start a relationship!" James exclaimed.

"Coming from the guy who told Evans he was signed up to play Chaser for Puddlemere,"

"Oh yeah..."

Remus sighed. "Guys, you know I can't have a relationship when I'm such a – "

"Hey Victoria!" the other three chorused, and Remus turned around sharply.

She nodded towards them, before addressing Remus. "Hey, I was wondering, do you want to go to Hogsmeade this weekend?"

Remus swallowed. "Okay!"

* * *

_I apologise on James and Sirius' behalf for the immaturity of this list. It's pretty funny though. I love RemLup!  
Some messages for the awesomely awesome reviewers who reviewed:  
Paddywhack: stop thinking about g-hammer. IT'S WRONG.  
Tabithatibi: haha, I know Amos is quite a creep. He does make me laugh though.  
LilyOrange: ah, that's pretty cool. I've never seen that film, but I'll try to! you should really watch the Hangover, it's brilliant.  
IndigoInfusion: (it wouldn't let me put the dot) ah thanks, and I know what you mean, it bugs me when Lily immediately starts to like James, from the start of a story.  
Stefffeeey: haha, Alan is amazing. Everything he does is so hilarious.  
Kill4Karamel: WOOOO I LOVE THAT YOU'VE WATCHED AVPM TOO. It's the most amazing thing ever! Have you seen Me and My Dick, also by Starkid Potter? It's so hilarious.  
On that note, every Harry Potter fan, go on Youtube and look up 'A Very Potter Musical'. You'll be laughing for like, days, seriously!  
Thank you all lots and lots and lots for your lovely reviews. I love having reviews I can reply to!  
I'm in a really good mood. I just got hiccups, for laughing too much and drinking too much Dr Pepper.  
70 Reviews?  
Lots of love,  
Ash, x_


	9. Knights in Invisibility Cloaks

Chapter Nine  
**Knights in Invisibility Cloaks**

"Are you ready to – what the hell?" Victoria was surprised to see James and Sirius coming down the stairs of the boys' dormitory, right behind Remus, who looked incredibly exasperated.

"James and Sirius think they're coming with us," he explained.

Victoria stifled a laugh. "Well they're not."

"I tried that. It doesn't work."

"Remus is going on a date," they sang together, clearly rehearsed. "Remus is going to Hogsmeade on a romantic little date!"

"Shut up," Remus rolled his eyes, and took Victoria's arm in his. She was wearing a summery floral dress – the type that only seemed to work on incredibly skinny people and hangers. To their annoyance, as they started to walk out of the common room, James and Sirius insisted on following, in the most infuriating manner.

Victoria rounded on them scarily. "If the two of you are planning on having children, you'll stay away from us today, understand?"

They nodded, apprehensive expressions replacing the smiles on their faces.

Remus grinned and they walked out of the common room.

"Did she mean having children with each other, or having children in general?"

-*-

"We should not be doing this," James laughed, from beneath his invisibility cloak.

"When has that stopped us before?" Sirius grinned back.

"True. Ah man, Peter should be here. It's annoying that we can't all fit under here anymore."

"Yeah. Oh well, he'd disapprove of the Remus stalking anyway." Sirius flicked his hair out of his eyes. "Remus himself would disapprove of the Remus stalking."

"I'm actually pretty worried for my balls. I mean if Victoria catches us – oh shit, look!" James nudged Sirius hard, and pointed in the direction of the staircase, where Lily and Severus Snape were having what looked like a very heated discussion. Avery and Mulciber, two ridiculously terrifying Slytherins were standing behind him, menacing expressions on their faces. She tried to get away, several times, but Avery grabbed her arm, keeping her rooted to the spot.

"That filthy little – "James began, making to get out from under the cloak, but Sirius grabbed him warningly.

"Careful mate, you know what she'll be like."

"She clearly needs some sort of help,"

"What, d'you want to be her _knight in shining armour _or – oh, for Merlin's sake,"

James wasn't listening, and had confunded Severus, from beneath the cloak. His eyes went somewhat foggy and dazed for a moment. Sirius rolled his eyes and stunned the two cronies, to stop them cursing Lily. "Quick, get under." James grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her under the cloak, much to her disgust.

"Potter, what the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" she gasped, as they hurried her away from the consciousness-regaining Severus and the other two slowly-reviving Slytherins.

"I told you. Don't say I didn't tell you." Sirius muttered under his breath, as Lily began fighting to get away from them. She ripped the cloak off them, angrily.

"What makes you think you can just grab me, and – and put this – what the hell _is_ this thing, anyway?" James opened his mouth to explain, but she spoke over him, "You know what, I don't even care. You are such an arrogant little – "

"I was trying to rescue you!" James said helplessly, only now noticing the idiocy of his actions. "They were threatening you!"

She opened and shut her mouth like a fish. "For all you know, we could have been having a perfectly civilised conversation. You don't – "

"Okay, you can yell all you like in a sec, but Snivellus is coming this way," Sirius said grimly, looking at the map.

"Under here," James said, practically lifting Lily and shoving her into a broom closet.

"Get _off_ me!" she shrieked, as they shut themselves in with her. "You two are _so_ – "

"Hey, I was against this idea from the start," Sirius cried, as James was looking very pleased with the situation.

"I could have you expelled for this kind of abduction." Lily sniffed unhappily and pushed against the door, trying to get it to open. After a moment of struggling she turned around and looked at the two amused boys. "It won't open."

"I think you need a man's help," James said, proudly flexing his muscles. She almost laughed. James attempted to push the door open, without luck. "Err, Sirius," he muttered under his breath. "Help."

Sirius smirked. "I'll show you what a real man is, Evans." But Sirius too couldn't reveal the entrance to the corridor. "What the fuck?!"

"Oh, he wouldn't..." Lily had picked up the Marauder's Map, which Sirius had thrown on the floor of the closet. They grabbed it from her and studied it to see Severus walking down the corridor, away from the closet they were seemingly trapped in. Though all he could see was the tiny black dot, James could easily imagine the smug smile on his unfortunately hideous face. The thought had him clenching his fists angrily.

Sirius collapsed on the floor. "James, are we trapped in here? I'm hungry."

Lily rounded on James with a deathly expression. "If you've got me trapped in here with the two of you, I swear to Merlin, Godric Gryffindor and freaking Nicholas Flamel, I will _kill_ you!"

James' lips twitched. "Firstly, it wasn't _me_ who got us trapped in here. It was Snape. Secondly, who's Nicholas Flamel? And thirdly," he grinned. "You're pretty when you're mad."

She shrieked so angrily she could have been mistaken for a banshee, and Sirius jumped. "James Charlus Potter, you little – "

"Hey, you know my middle name!"

She looked positively murderous, and it was with good sense that James moved away from her to sit on the floor beside Sirius.

"I wish Remus was here," Sirius sighed unhappily.

-*-

Remus and Victoria strolled along arm in arm, passing through the main high street before beginning to stroll down the small winding lanes of Hogsmeade Village. After what seemed like ages of walking, they arrived at a small clearing – a grassy moor which seemed to be purely countryside, and completely different to anything he'd ever seen at Hogwarts.

"I've never been this far from the high street," she said thoughtfully.

"Me neither. This is pretty cool," he said, turning to her with a smile on his handsome face. "You're pretty cool, you know?"

She shrugged happily. "I guess – oh!"

He interrupted her and titled her chin upwards and kissed her. After a moment, she began kissing him back, her long slender arms wrapped around his neck.

* * *

_I love Remus. Yeah, I said it again.  
School tomorrow. There are many things to be crying about right now.  
But, my lovely reviews are not one of those things.  
poptartjuice: haha, best song ever! and oh my god me too, the sequel is going to be amazing, I wish I could go watch it live.  
paddywhack: there is no wizard equivalent of the ELC, and surely even Sirius wouldn't want to have sex there! ;)  
lessxthan3maggie: haha well, to tell you the truth the list was based on a random moment of boredom between me and Liv, but that's a whole other story right there.  
And thanks so much to all the other reviewers too!  
Woah, facebook chat is popping. Pop. Pop. Pop.  
80 Reviews?  
Lots of love.  
Ash, x_


	10. What Sadness Lengthens Prongs' Hours?

Chapter Ten  
**What Sadness Lengthens Prongs' Hours?**

"_Merry Christmas, merry Christmas, ring the Hogwarts bell!"_

James and Sirius grandly finished their third rendition of Christmas at Hogwarts, the infamous Hogwarts Christmas carol.

Lily glared at them. "Are you quite done?"

"Merry Christmas, merry – " Sirius began again, but James shook his head.

"No. Uh-uh. It's over," he said to a pouting Sirius.

Lily put her head in her hands. "It's blooming September," she said in a muffled voice.

James edged closer to her. "What was that?"

"Don't touch me Potter," she snapped, and Sirius burst into laughter.

"You got told, Potter."

"Shut it, Black."

"I don't find your use of my last name at all amusing."

"That's funny, 'cause I find your face _very_ amusing."

"That's too mean." Sirius couldn't hide the hurt in his voice. "Way too mean."

James laughed. "Baby."

"Sweetheart."

"Oh, funny."

Lily banged her head against the wall she was leaning on. "Get me out of here," she sobbed.

-*-

The sun was almost setting, and Remus and Victoria were sitting on the grass, looking across the moorlands. His arm was slung around her shoulders, in a protective way.

"You want my sweater?" he asked suddenly, noticing the goosebumps on her tanned arms. Without waiting for an answer, he pulled his light blue cashmere sweater over his head, revealing the polo shirt he wore beneath it, and gave it to her.

She pulled it over her head gratefully, loving how it was still warm. "What's the time?" she asked reluctantly. They had to get back to the school at some time, though she didn't want the day to end.

"Half past eight," he sighed. It was still September, and the sun was glowing red in the horizon in front of them. "It'll be dark soon."

"Should we go?" she asked, and he nodded, standing up and took her hand. She had to push up the sleeve of his jumper, which hung several inches from her hands and was as long as her dress. He chuckled at the way it hung off her.

"You know, I have this funny feeling James and Sirius found a way to bug us – even if we don't know it yet," Remus said thoughtfully. He suddenly grasped at the air in front of him, as though he expected to grab something invisible. "Odd. That usually works."

Victoria raised an eyebrow. "You grow to ignore that suspicion."

"Yeah, I try my best to. But I'm usually right." He looked at her. "Jeez, it must have sucked growing up with James – as a friend, I mean."

She laughed aloud. "Oh yes, he was the most annoying kid. Once, his father built us a treehouse. It was well cool, like, it looked muggleish from the outside, and then it was _amazing _inside! Like a proper house, or something."

"What did James do?"

"He burned it down."

Remus spluttered. "You're kidding!"

"Yeah, he was playing with his mother's wand – he stole it, see – and then he dropped it, and somehow it set the carpet alight and then – well, it was a wonder we got out alive," she laughed nostalgically. "Uncle Charlie saved us."

Remus grinned. "He's pretty cool – for a dad." He'd spent a few weeks one summer at the Potters'.

"Mmm," Victoria nodded. "My dad's not so much. He's alright, but he works a lot. He's not always around, y'know?"

"Ah, well. How 'bout your mother?"

"She's awesome, she pretty much raised the four of us by herself."

Remus entwined his fingers with hers. "She did a great job," he smiled and kissed her again.

-*-

"Help!" Sirius wailed desperately. "Oh dear God, will somebody please help?!" He banged his fists on the door pathetically, incredibly weak.

"You're a mess." James sighed.

"I'm hungry."

"Help!" Lily yelled out too. "Anybody, help!"

"I'll help you!" James grinned about to shift towards Lily again, but she was too quick for him. "Ooh!" he bounced against the invisible wall created by the shield charm she'd casted. "Harsh, Lils."

"Oh shut up."

"Ay me! Sad hours seem so long." James sighed wistfully.

"What sadness lengthens Prongs' hours?" Sirius replied, the both of them ignoring Lily's bewildered expression.

"Not having that, which having, makes them short."

"In love?"

"Out – "

"Of love?"

"Out of her favour where I am in love,"

"Alas, that love, so – "

"What the – are you quoting Romeo and Juliet?!" Lily yelped, looking at their innocent faces.

James broke into laughter. "Remus was reading it. We memorised that to see your reaction."

"We've been waiting for a good time to do it," Sirius added. "Lily, you interrupted Benny's line!"

"His name is Benvolio, you idiot," she rolled her eyes. "And that was really random. Why did you feel the need to memorise Shakespeare?"

"You're my Juliet, babe," James raised his eyebrows at her.

She looked disgusted. "If you had even read the play, you'd know he wasn't even talking about Juliet at that part."

James was stunned for a moment. "Why does he love someone who _isn't_ Juliet?"

"He's infatuated with Rosalind."

"What a douche, I would never love anyone else, Lily!" he told her earnestly.

"Mhm."

"James, I'm actually dying!" Sirius wept into James' shoulder dramatically. "Peter's going to be so worried about us! And Remus, oh Remus! I just wish Remus was here! Then things would be okay!"

"Yeah, then at least we'd have a bar of chocolate or something." James said, his stomach rumbling.

"He wouldn't share his chocolate." Lily muttered, and James stared at her incredulously.

"Lily, you just told a joke!"

Sirius scoffed, his voice muffled in James' shoulder. "She's telling the truth."

Lily muttered darkly under her breath, her stomach rumbling too. She checked her watch. "I could be eating my dinner now."

"Well, I could be eating – "

"Sirius, if you finish that sentence, I may have to kill you," James groaned, as Sirius managed a weak grin before burying his head in James' chest, and wrapping his arms around his body. The pair of them looked exceedingly gay.

Lily smirked. "You look like a couple," she said, as James patted Sirius head awkwardly.

All of a sudden, the door burst open with a bang, and James and Sirius sprung apart.

"Minnie, oh Minnie, you saved the day!" Sirius flung himself into Professor McGonagall's unsuspecting arms, and she toppled backwards.

"What on _earth_, were the three of you doing in here?" she asked, looking thoroughly shocked. She shook Sirius away from her. "And were you and Potter cuddling?"

"That's neither here nor there," James said hurriedly.

"We got ourselves locked in here, Professor," Lily explained, and the boys stared at her curiously. "It won't happen again."

"Right," McGonagall nodded, warily. "I'll just leave you to – for heaven's sake, Mr. Black, will you _please_ get off me!"

* * *

_I love McGonagall. And I love duck spring rolls, of which I just had six.  
Yum yum yum.  
Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!  
Thanks lots and lots to all of my reviewers, much appreciated guys.  
95 Reviews?  
Love you lots.  
Ash, x_


	11. A Meeting with Dumbledore

Chapter Eleven  
**A Meeting with Dumbledore**

"Let's go sit with Remus," Victoria urged, pulling Lily down the table towards the Marauders. Lily rolled her eyes. They had been dating for almost a week, and all her friend could talk about was Remus, Remus, Remus. Victoria had been known to easily become infatuated with things – or people – but this was almost too much for her to handle.

And now, she was expected to eat breakfast with Remus' friends, who Victoria seemed to have forgotten were her least favourite people in all of Hogwarts. No. Uh-uh. No way. There was no way Lily Marie Evans was going to sit and eat with –

"Morning Evans!" James said cheerfully, waving his bit of toast at her.

She ignored him and sat down miserably beside Victoria, who was perched on Remus' lap. Opposite her, Sirius was frantically scribbling the end of an essay on a roll of parchment, his thick dark eyebrows furrowed in concentration. She couldn't deny it, he did look ridiculously sexy, even while panicking about forgotten Charms homework. A couple of girls along the table were eyeing him up, but he didn't seem to notice.

"Lily, do you know what lesson we have next?" James asked hopefully, in the tone he might use to ask her on a date.

"You idiot, I asked you a minute ago and you said it was Charms," Sirius frowned, tactlessly. Remus rolled his eyes. "Ouch!" Sirius yelped, as James kicked him underneath the table.

"I forgot," he shrugged helplessly, slumping in his seat.

Lily looked from James to Sirius in exasperation. "I'll meet you in Charms," she said to Victoria, slinging her bag over her shoulder and marching out of the hall without any breakfast.

"You are such an embarrassment," James sighed, folding his arms.

"Oi, no I'm not," Sirius said, his mouth full of bacon, as he tried to eat a plateful of breakfast in the five minutes they had before class. "You're the embarrassment, stop trying to get her to notice you. It's not working."

James wailed dramatically and buried his head in his arms. "I just want to marry her, is that so wrong?!"

Victoria laughed to herself. He looked up abruptly.

"My pathetic lack of a love life is not a joke" he frowned.

She cocked her head to the side and looked James up and down. "At least you're better than Diggory," she mused, mostly to herself.

"I know!" James agreed enthusiastically.

"You know, the more Victoria hangs out with us, the more Lily does too." Remus pointed out, and James' face lit up brightly.

"That's an excellent observation, Remus. See Sirius, this is why he's our friend!"

Sirius grinned, downing a glass of orange juice, and Remus glowered.

"Hey, don't let Remus get all the credit," Victoria frowned indignantly. She looked at them all, waiting for a reply.

"You're amazing, Vic!" Sirius scoffed sarcastically, standing up. "Merlin, what are you all sitting around for? Aren't we going to Charms?"

-*-

James pushed his chair onto its back legs. He drummed his fingers on the desk in boredom.

"Do you mind?" Remus hissed out of the corner of his mouth. "I'm _trying_ to make some notes."

"Cheers, you're so thoughtful," James grinned. Remus stared at him blankly. "Making notes for me and everything."

"Just because you're a Charms failure, doesn't mean I should be expected to help you out."

"I'll copy Sirius' notes then."

Remus burst into silent laughter and gestured to Sirius, who was levitating his quill above the head of a girl in front of him, wondering how long it would take for her to notice.

Suddenly, the girl turned around, still oblivious to the quill floating above her, and passed a neatly folded note of parchment to James. "It's from Lily," she said, glancing at Sirius.

James' heart leapt with excitement. He nudged Sirius, who actually looked quite interested and motioned to it, as if to say 'open it then!'

He unfolded it quickly, his fingers stumbling.

_I forgot to tell you, meeting with Dumbledore at half seven tonight. Don't be late._

He reread it twice and turned it over, looking for any more of her neatly italic cursive. Sirius smirked beside him, and James punched him lightly in the arm.

The first Head Boy and Girl meeting of the year, with their eccentric headmaster. Great.

-*-

"You're late." Lily snapped, as James rounded the corner. She was standing in front of the gargoyles which guarded Professor Dumbledore's office.

"By like a _minute!_" James cried in indignation, checking his watch. "Quidditch practice ran over."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's go. Toffee apple," she said to the gargoyle, and it moved out of place, revealing a spiral staircase.

James had only been in the office once, back in second year when he and Sirius had tried to sneak in there to bewitch the Sorting Hat into thinking it was a scarf. It was before the Marauders' Map had been written, and they had been caught by a somewhat amused Dumbledore. He could hardly remember what it even looked like.

"Come in, come in," Dumbledore said, his hands clasped together and resting on his large wooden desk. He motioned for them to take a seat. "Congratulations on your new positions as Head Boy and Girl," he smiled.

James shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "Professor – "

"You're probably wondering why I made you Head Boy, and not one of the prefects," he already knew what James was about to ask. James nodded. "You're a natural leader. I somehow doubt the other prefects are up to the job of looking after the school, especially in this war we're in. With the exception of Mr. Lupin perhaps, but of course, he's got other things to be dealing with."

Lily looked from James to Dumbledore, slightly confused.

Dumbledore glanced at her, and smiled suddenly, in the peculiar manner of his. "Alright, is there any news or things you would like to bring up?"

Lily sat up importantly. "The prefects have made another complaint about Moaning Myrtle, Professor. She's been lurking in the boys' bathroom, and it's very ahem, disturbing and, you know..." she trailed off awkwardly. James smirked under his breath, and she shot him a glare.

"Very well, I'll ask Professor McGonagall to talk to her again," Dumbledore nodded, tactfully ignoring the conflict between the two of them. "Now, you two are also in charge of organising any extracurricular activities for the school, so – "

"Oh sweet!" James exclaimed, leaning back in his chair. He rested his hands behind his head.

"I take it you have some ideas, Mr. Potter?" Dumbledore glanced at him.

James considered it. "We could have a bunch of parties, we never seem to have parties. Official ones, anyway. Ooh, a school outing, to go watch Puddlemere play! And maybe an exchange programme, with Beauxbatons. Those French girls, blimey – "

"Don't be ridiculous James, we can't do any of those things!" Lily said, looking at Dumbledore apologetically.

"I don't see why not," Dumbledore seemed to be considering these ideas, his eyes twinkling excitedly.

James looked at him. He wasn't sure if he was just calling his bluff, or whether he honestly thought James' ideas were good ones.

"You'll need to organise these events yourselves of course," Dumbledore looked at them both, and Lily nodded furiously, jotting notes down on a scroll of parchment. "And you could arrange meetings between the two of you, to discuss this further."

He seemed almost amused at the idea of the two of them working together. James grinned broadly, while Lily bit back a scowl.

"Alright, I think that is enough for this evening. I'll notify you when I want to meet with you again," Dumbledore concluded, holding his hands out to indicate that they were free to leave.

"Honestly Potter, parties? Quidditch matches?" Lily sighed in aggravation, as soon as they were out of earshot. "You're insane."

"You love it, Lily," he grinned happily. "We could do a Halloween fancy-dress party?"

"The feast is tradition!" she looked crestfallen.

"Oh come on, it'll be great. Everyone can dress up, it'll be so much fun. Didn't you just love Halloween as a kid?" he nudged her in a playful way, his eyes lit with excitement.

She smiled reluctantly. She had loved dressing up in ridiculous costumes and going trick-or-treating with Petunia. She shook her head, exasperatedly, as they turned the corner.

"Where are you going?" James asked – Lily had walked in the opposite direction of the Gryffindor common room.

"I've got to meet Amos. We can discuss this later," she called to him, not turning around.

James pulled a face behind her back and carried walking in the opposite direction.

* * *

_Wowza, thanks for the reviews guys!  
Today, I fell over in a sandpit. I got sand in my shoes.  
Hey guess what, I've almost hit the big 1-0-0! The next one will be the 100th review, how crazy.  
Some messages/replies/shiznit:  
BellatrixTonks67: haha, gotta love Leonardo DiCaprio. He is ama-a-a-a-a-a-azing!  
Kill4Karamel: pigfarts, pigfarts, yum yum yum! draco is so funny! and thanks, haha yep I've read the prequel. it's like, one of the many reasons I love James & Sirius :D  
Tabithatibi: haha yeah, I was sort of thinking that when I was writing it!  
mojomacy: uhh, Dr. Pepper is only THE BEST DRINK IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD, OMG. I want some now.  
Love all of you reviewers so much!  
120 Reviews?  
It's quite a lot to ask, but yaknow, it doesn't take long to tell me how much you love, like, dislike, hate or any other feelings you may have towards this story.  
Lots of love.  
Ash, x_


	12. Professor Hayley Asher

Chapter Twelve  
**Professor Hayley Asher**

Sirius checked his hair in his mirror quickly, before shoving it back into his bag. He looked around to make sure that nobody saw the infamous Sirius Black checking himself out in a handheld mirror.

He took a deep breath and walked into the Astronomy classroom.

"Hello Sirius," Professor Asher smiled at him in surprise, as she handed out charts to each desk. "You're early, it's only quarter to twelve."

Their Astronomy lesson began at midnight, and Sirius had made an effort to arrive much before anybody else did. "You want some help, Professor?" he asked, in the most charming voice he could muster.

"Sure, could you set up the telescopes for me?" she replied, smoothing down her grey skirt, oblivious to the way he was drooling over her.

Suddenly the door burst open, and James and Remus strolled in, huge smiles plastered across their faces. "Sirius! We thought we'd find you here!" they said simultaneously. It sounded rehearsed.

"Hello," Sirius said dully, glaring at them.

"Here so early Sirius!" Remus exclaimed, in mock-horror. "I think someone's got a little – "

"Why don't you help me out with these telescopes?" Sirius said loudly, dragging his two friends to the other side of the classroom, away from Professor Asher. "I hate you guys," he hissed.

"We couldn't resist," James grinned widely, checking out their teacher as she wrote on the blackboard. "She has Ch_definitely_ gotten hotter over the summer."

"You don't want Evans to hear you saying that," Sirius muttered bitterly, annoyed at the fact that he could no longer be alone with their Professor.

"Ah, she's willing to share!"  
"Or your bloody girlfriend, Remus,"

"Hey, I wasn't the one staring at her arse," Remus frowned indignantly, averting his eyes.

The classroom began to fill with people, and the trio were forced to stop hovering by the telescopes and sit down in their usual seats in the front row. It was the only class where they sat in the front row, except for Transfiguration.

"Welcome back everyone," she smiled at them, and Sirius sighed lustfully.

"She's _amazing_," he whispered to James, who smirked.

"Well, now you know how I feel about Lily."

"This is _more_ than that, James! This is true love!" he protested.

James frowned. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"James and Sirius, is there something you'd like to share with the rest of us?" she asked pointedly, and they both fell quiet at once.

"There's something I'd like to share with her," Remus muttered under his breath, and they both stifled laughter.

"No Professor," Sirius said smoothly, grinning up at her. She faltered slightly under his handsome charm, but looked away before he could make anything of it.

-*-

"Why does Astronomy have to be at fucking _midnight?"_ Sirius moaned, buttoning up his shirt. It was the following morning, and as usual for a Wednesday night, they had only gotten six hours of sleep. Sirius had a tendency to swear when he was tired.

"Because you can't look at the stars when it's daytime," James pointed out, yawning as he did up his tie.

"Fuck off."

"I hope they don't run out of pancakes by the time we get downstairs," Peter babbled, fully awake. "I'm so in the mood for pancakes today. Oh, isn't it a nice day today? It's sunny, for once. It's never sunny these days. Autumn really depresses me, you know? It's like – "

"For the love of Merlin, Peter – "

"Just because _I_ chose my subject _sensibly_ and was clever enough to know to _drop_ Astronomy, doesn't mean you should yell at me," he said smugly, and Sirius looked as though he might throw something.

"Just because you have a _vagina_, doesn't mean – "

"Sirius, you're going too far," Remus chuckled, walking out of the bathroom and towelling his fair hair dry.

"Will nobody let me finish a bloody sentence around here?"

-*-

Lily fought back the uncharacteristic urge to kick the minuscule first-year who had delivered her the handwritten memo from Professor Dumbledore. She couldn't be less enthusiastic about having to throw a freaking Halloween Party, courtesy of James _freaking_ Potter.

If anyone else was Head Boy, she'd be the most enthused person there was.

She crossed her legs and sat in an armchair in the common room, waiting for him to come down.

"I don't see why you're bothered. I think it's a great idea," Victoria shrugged, and Lily glared at her.

"Who asked you?"

She chuckled. "Just saying. Jeez."

Just then, the four Marauders rounded the corner of the spiral staircase, looking surprised to see the girls waiting for them. James cocked his head to the side, subconsciously licking his lips.

"Hey," Remus and Victoria embraced, and kissed each other in greeting.

"Alright Potter, listen up, and you'd better write this down," James looked surprised to see her talking to him at all, let alone expecting him to take notes. "We'll have the party on Halloween night, and we'll scrap the feast completely. The house elves won't mind, they can put all the energy into the food for the party. And I think we should probably organise something for the first to third years to do too. We'll have the – "

"Wait, what?!" James interrupted her, trying to take it all in. "What party?"

"For the love of God, _you_ suggested it Potter!"

He looked confused for a moment, until – "Oh! The Halloween bash! Trust Dumbledore to get us to throw a good old-fashioned shindig."

"Yes," she said shortly, before continuing with her flow of speech, as they walked down to breakfast, their friends in close pursuit. "We'll put the Hufflepuff Prefects in charge of decorations, the Ravenclaws can get all the food organised, and the Gryffindors can be in charge of music."

"And the Slytherins?" asked Remus, who had caught up, eager to be of help.

"They can clean up?" James suggested innocently.

"They can arrange the location and things like that," Lily supplied, ignoring James' comment. "We'll need to send some prefects down to Hogsmeade of course, to get supplies. Or of course, we could order them by Owl Post, if that's easier? And then there needs to be a..."

She carried on talking at the speed of a Nimbus '96, and James drifted off for a moment. He watched her speak, noticing the way she tucked her long hair behind her ear, then pulled it out again, or how her eyes flashed excitedly every time a new idea sprang to mind.

"Are you listening to a _word_ I'm saying, Potter?" her sharp voice pulled him back to focus.

"Yes! You were saying, we need to arrange a band. And then you were discussing what bands to get," he said hurriedly, grinning.

She pressed her lips together. "You heard what I said. That doesn't mean you were listening," she muttered. James chuckled.

* * *

_Hey guys, bad news. My computer has crashed which sucks Sirius' hairy balls.  
I'm hopefully gonna take it to the people to get it fixed. And I really hope the whole 27 odd chapters I've written on it don't get killed.  
Fingers crossed.  
Anyway, I probably won't be able to update for a while. I will try, but I don't have much access to the internet, seeing as my sister likes to use this laptop like, uh, all the time.  
Keep reading & reviewing anyway.  
Love you lots and lots.  
Ash, x _


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